Tuesday, October 27, 2015

" I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp. There's something about that person's breath and hands on the letter."

- Diane Lane

I love deli paper. There's something so magical about drawing something on a translucent surface which can later be altered by adding it to something busy, colorful - and in my case lately - incredibly bright. My friend and fellow lover of the stuff recently (well okay, like a year ago) sent me a huge stash from her own collection so that I could play, play, play. Thank you Linda for sharing it with me, I've been having fun with it ever since!

As a matter of fact, I've recently decided to create a series of mail art using deli paper as the base. Wanna see what I came up with?? Okay then, here we go. . . .

Deli paper sketch with pencil, Micron black & Sakura white pens

As she appears on top of her altered Priority Mail envelope

(Alpha stickers played a part here)

Little Blue Girl on a small Priority Mail Box

(Back view)

And in case you wanna how I did it, here's the exact, technical-ish process:

I first collected several US Priority Mail boxes and envelopes in various sizes. Once I decided which combination of materials I wanted to work with, I began by painting both the front and back of each substrate with gesso. Once dry, I began playing with a variety of supplies and mark making materials including spray inks, homemade stencils, oil pastels, charcoal and pencil.

In order to bring something different to the now colorful backgrounds, I decided to draw several quick sketches on translucent Deil paper to place on top. The sketches were first created in pencil and then brought to life with black ink and pops of white for definition. Once complete, I then tore around the images and glued them on to each box or envelope.

Further details were then added with bits of collage including bubble gum wrappers, pieces of decorative napkins and other bits of dried paint on deli paper from a past project in which I used deli paper as my palette. Lastly, I added white paint over stickers that were removed once dry to create the “Somerset” and Zip on the pink envelope (so okay, for those of you paying real close attention, you now know where they're headed ;) and added stamped lines on the fronts of each piece to represent the addresses.

Oh yeah, I also did a simple black and white pen & ink drawing on a large Priority Mail box to send the whole lot off.

Monday, October 12, 2015

I hope this finds you happy, well and in the throws of creation! I for one have been on an abstract roll as I try to finish projects around the house that require a bit of art here and there. As I said in last week's post, adding my own art to my home is new for me, but I must admit, I kinda like seeing some of my favorite bits and pieces of collage or vintage materials just hanging around. Feels like they too have found a "home." Anywho, here's some details of what went down in this latest abstract:

(30 x 36)

And here she is as a whole . . .

Thanks for taking a peek! I look forward to seeing what roll you're on this week as well . . . .

Sunday, October 4, 2015

"My imagination can picture no fairer happiness than to continue living for art."

- Clara Schumannf

I'm covered in paint. Neons mainly, but charcoal, grey and a lotta white have made their way up my arms (feet and an unfortunate spill on what will now be another "painting skirt") as well, making me feel rather proud that I've finally taken the time to slap some paint around again. But I ramble. . . .

I should start here: you may recall this post in which I shared the beginnings of what I was calling the biggest "palette cleaner" ever. In a nutshell, one day many many moons ago (well okay, February) I decided to throw a large (30 x 40) canvas on the floor of my studio and just leave it there while I went about creating my little heart out. Instead of cleaning my brushes and palette knifes on a piece of paper or an art journal like I normally would, I decided to try my hand at a big ole abstract, and use the large canvas as my catchall instead. What resulted was many, many (I did say many, yeah?) layers of collage and color that was added over the course of several months.

A house renovation (still in process, but almost complete) & a birthday party for a little girl I know who's now somehow a decade old (ugh, it's all going so fast!) was the impetus for my getting my act tougher and finally finishing it. Although I've never actually put a piece of my own art in my home, this one made the cut, and is now proudly displayed - neons and all - on my dining room wall. Wanna see the details? Yes? Okay, here we go:

(30 x 40 So yeah, really big)

And here's the final result . . . .

Oh! And in other incredibly exciting news, my main Life Book lesson goes up this week!

(sneeky-peeky)

If you're taking it, I do hope you'll enjoy yourself and I can't wait to see what you do!